Digest of Education Statistics

Visit the Digest of Education Statistics to begin your school year and find data you can use your classroom, research project, or organization. NCES has released nearly 300 updated data tables for the Digest this year, including information on trends and topics such as educational attainment and labor market outcomes, public elementary and secondary school enrollment and staff, English learners, students with disabilities, public elementary and secondary school characteristics, college admission tests, postsecondary enrollment and staff, postsecondary finances, and federal funds for education and related activities. Selected findings include: In 2022, about 2 percent of all public school teachers and 1 percent of all private school teachers were military veterans. This percentage was 6 percent for male public school teachers, 5 percent for male private school teachers, and 1 percent each for female teachers at public and private schools (table 209.27). A new table on teachers’ field of main teaching assignment and degree(s)/certification(s). In 2020–21, about 91 percent of all teachers in public elementary and secondary schools had a degree/certification in the field of their main teaching assignment. Looking at selected specific fields, 95 percent of special education teachers, 84 percent of English as a second language (ESL) teachers, and 82 percent of mathematics and computer science teachers in public schools had a degree/certification in the same field. In 2020-21 in private elementary and secondary schools, about 71 percent of all teachers had a degree/certification in the field of their main teaching assignment. These percentages were 73 percent for special education teachers and 57 percent for mathematics and computer science teachers in private schools (table 209.60). In 2020–21, about 67 percent of public schools with grade 11 or 12 enrollment had students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) program, and about 26 percent had students enrolled in AP computer science courses. Across locales, large suburban areas had the highest percentage of schools with student enrollment in AP computer science courses (49 percent) and remote rural areas had the lowest percentage (4 percent; table 225.72). In 2022–23, about 16 percent of all degree-granting postsecondary institutions, including 11 percent of public 4-year institutions and 36 percent of private nonprofit 4-year institutions, reported that they considered legacy status in admissions. Legacy status refers to a student’s familial connection to an institution, including a sibling who currently attends or parents or relatives who are alumni (table 305.30). In 2022–23, average tuition and required fees for full-time undergraduate students in degree-granting public 4-year institutions were $9,750 for in-state students and $28,297 for out-of-state students (in current dollars). In the same academic year, average undergraduate tuition and required fees for full-time students in private 4-year institutions were $35,248 (table 330.20). In fiscal year 2022, federal on-budget funds for education (i.e., federal funds for education programs tied to appropriations) totaled $726.1 billion (in current dollars). This included $96.2 billion for elementary and secondary education, $577.5 billion for postsecondary education, $41.6 billion for research programs at universities and related institutions, and $10.8 billion for other educational purposes (table 401.30). The Digest is a comprehensive statistical reference covering the broad field of American education, from early childhood through graduate school. It includes data from nearly 100 sources—both government and private—and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by NCES. Digest tables are the foundation of many NCES reports and products, including the Condition of Education and Digest State Dashboard. Digest tables are continuously updated and released throughout the year. To view the latest versions of all Digest tables, please visit the “Most Current Digest Tables” page. You can also read about recent Digest improvements in the NCES blog, including Leveraging Economic Data to Understand the Education Workforce and NCES Centralizes State-Level Data in New Digest State Dashboard.